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THE BLACK BRIGADE 



CINCIISTNATI: 



REPORT OF ITS LABORS 



MUSTER-ROLL OF ITS MEMBERS; 



TOGETHER WITH 



TARIOUS ORDERS, SPEECHES, ETC. 



EELATING TO IT. 



BY 

PETER H. CLARK 




CINCINNATI: 

PRINTED BY JOSEPH B. BOYD, No. 25 WEST FOURTH STREET. 
M.DCCC.LX.IV. 



3 

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THE BLACK BRIGADE, 



At the request of many members of the Black Brigade, who 
desired to have in a convenient form for preservation, the re- 
jDort, muster-roll, orders, and addresses which are here pre- 
sented, I have undertaken the compilation of this volume. 

The Black Brigade was the first organization of the colored 
people of the North actually employed for military purposes. 
The conference of the loyal Governors at Altoona, where the 
organization of colored regiments in the North was first agreed 
upon, had not been held; Massachusets had not yet issued the 
call which rallied the noble Fifty-fourth and Fifty -fifth Eegi- 
ments ; colored men of the North were every -where contempt- 
uously refused permission to participate in the great struggle 
whieh is opening the prison -doors to their brethren in the 
South. In no community was this exclusion more generally 
ratified by public sentiment than in Cincinnati. 

In the South, General Butler, with that sublimity of common 
sense which characterizes all his actions, had employed, as 
laborers, the freedmen in the vicinity of Fortress Monroe, 
under the name of "Contrabands;" and, in an order dated 
August 24, 1862, nine daya before the organization of the Black 
Brigade, he had called upon the free colored people of Lou- 
isiana to rally to the defense of the Union. 

The city of Cincinnati always has been, and still is, pro- 
slavciy. Nowhere has the prejudice against colored peoj)le 
been more ci'uelly manifested than here. Further north or 
further i?Duth the feeling is not so intense; but here it almost 
denies him the right of existence. For about thirty years the 
cit}' has, at intervals, been disgraced by ferocious outbursts of 
mob violence against the colored people and their friends, re- 



4 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

suiting frequently in los3 of life, and always in the destruc- 
tion of property. It is true that anti-slavery speakers have at 
times been allowed free utterance; but Cincinnati is a commer- 
cial as Avell as a pro-slavery city. Abolition buyers from the 
North and slaveholding buyers from the South jostle each 
other in her streets; hence the influential classes maintained 
free speech to conciliate Abolition customers, while the rabble 
were permitted to mob colored people to placate slaveholders. 
Even this balance was broken when the traitor Yancey spoke 
for disunion in a thronged house, and without interruption, 
while Wendell Phillips, speaking for the Union, was driven 
from the same platform by mob violence, and halls were closed, 
lest a lecture by Henry "Ward Beecher should provoke a riot. 

Such was the state of the public mind when the siege of Cin- 
cinnati begun. The raid of John Morgan in July, and defeat 
of the Union forces at Eichmond, Kentuck}^, August 30, had 
given warning of impending danger. Yarious calls were made 
by the authorities for the citizens to prepare for defense. Eegi- 
ments had been organized for drill, and a large part of the peo- 
ple were filled with martial ardor. The colored peojile paid no 
attention to these calls, because they did not feel themselves 
addressed in them. 

There is an ellipsis universal in American wanting or speak- 
ing. When an American writes, "All men are created free and 
equal," he means all white men. When he solicits the patron- 
age of the public for his book, his lecture, his concert, his store, 
his railroad-car or steamboat, he means the white public. The 
colored people have long since come to understand this fact, 
and to act upon it. It was most bitterly and insultingly im- 
pressed upon their memories when, in the great outburst of 
indignant patriotism, all the I^orth rushed to arms to avenge 
the fall of Sumter. They, too, desired to maintain the suprem- 
acy of the violated Constitution, for they hoped that some day 
the American people would remember that it was ordained " to 
secure the blessings of liberty;" they, too, had hopes centered in 
that flag; they, too, had homes to defend against the ravages 
of war. A meeting of the colored citizens of Cincinnati was 
called, to organize a company of "Home Guards." They did 
not propose to invade the South, but merely desired to aid in 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 6 

the defense of the city, sliould the necessity arise. The blood 
boils Avith indignation at the remembrance of the insults heaped 
Tipon them for this simple otfer. The keys of the school-house, 
in which a second meeting was proposed, were roughly de- 
manded by the police. The proprietor of a place selected as a 
recruiting station was compelled to take down an American 
flag which he had raised over his door. The proprietors of an- 
other place were told by the police : " We want you d d 

niggers to keep out of this; this is a white man's war." The 
Commercial reiterated the same advice, shorn of its profanity, 
but as needlessly and cruelly insulting. It was even said that 
a mob was brewing — that the steamboatmen were organizing 
for riotous purposes. Colored men were warned that serious 
danger impended. "Whether this was true, or merely a pretext 
to justify the abuse of the police, is hard to decide. The chair- 
man of the meeting was induced to publish a disclaimer, and 
the matter ended. 

In such a community, appeals to all citizehs to organize for 
defense fell upon the ears of colored men unheeded. They re- 
membered their lesson: "This is a white man's war, and you 
d d niggers must keep out of it." 

On Monday evening, September 1, General Lewis Wallace 
assumed command of the city, placing it under martial law, 
and making in the proclamation the following declaration: 

"This labor onght to be that of love. The undersigned trusts and believes 
it will be so. Anyhow, it must bo done. The willing shall be properly cred- 
ited ; the unwilling promptly visited. The principle adopted is : Citizens for 
the labor; soldiers for battler 

The negro-hating portion of the population rejoiced greatly 
that the Black Brigade was assigned to fatigue duty; but it 
will be seen, from this extract, that they performed the duty 
assigned by the General to all citizens. 

The papers of Tuesday morning also contained the following 
proclamation from the Mayor of the city : 

" Mayor's Office, Ciiy of Cincinnati. 
"In accordance with a resolution passed by the City Council of Cincinnati 
on the 1st instant, I hereby request that all business, of every kind or char- 
acter, be suspended at ten o'clock of this day, and that all persons, employers 
and employees, assemble in their respective wards, at the usual places of 



6 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

voting, and then and there organize themselves in such manner as may be 
thought best for the defense of the city. Every man, of every age, be he 
citizen or alien, who lives under the protection of our laws, is expected to 
take part in the organization. 

" Witness my hand and the corporatc'seal of the city of Cincinnati, this 2d 
day of September, A. D. 1862. 

"GEORGE HATCH, Mayor." 

At two o'clock on the morning of the same day, the Mayor 
issued another proclamation, notifying the citizens that the 
police force would perform the duty of a provost-guard, under 
the direction of General Wallace. 

The Mayor's proclamation, under ordinary circumstances, 
would be explicit enough. " Every man, of every age, be he 
citizen or alien," surely meant the colored people. A number 
thought themselves included in the call; but, remembering the 
ill-will excited by former offers for home defense, they feared 
to come forward for enrollment. The proclamation ordered the 
people to assemble " in the respective wards, at the usual places 
of voting." The colored people had no places of voting. Added 
to this, George Hatch was the same Mayor who had broken up 
the movement for home defense, before mentioned. Seeking to 
test the matter, a policeman was approached, as he strutted in 
his new dignity of provost-guard. To the question — humbly, 
almost tremblingly, put — " Does the Mayor desire colored men 
to report for service in the city's defense?" he replied: "You 
know d d well he does n't mean you. Niggers ain't citi- 
zens." "But he calls on all — citizens and aliens. If he does 
not mean all, he should not say so." "The Mayor knows as 
well as you do what to write, and all he wants is for yoii nig- 
gers to keep quiet." This was at nine o'clock on the morning 
of the 2d. The military authorities had determined, however, 
to impress the colored men for work upon the fortifications. 
The privilege of volunteering, extended to others, was to be 
denied to them. Permission to volunteer would imply some 
freedom, some dignit}^, some independent manhood. For this 
the commanding officer is alone chargeable. Mayor Hatch did 
not mean the colored people, though he had written " eveiy 
person;" nor had he given his officers any orders at their first 
going out. It may be said that the commanding General had 
no time, in the press of business, to care for such small matters 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. T 

as the desires and feelings of colored men. This may bo so; 
but it is the Lack of time to attend to such small matters as 
mercy and justice, that has involved the nation in this wasteful 
and bloody contest. 

If the guard appointed to the duty of collecting the colored 
people had gone to their houses and notified them to report for 
duty on the fortifications, the order would have been cheerfully 
obeyed. But the brutal rufiians who composed the regular and 
special j)olice took every opportunity to inflict abuse and insult 
upon the men whom they arrested. The special police was en- 
tirely composed of that class of the population which, only a 
month before, had combined to massacre the colored popula- 
tion, and were only jDrevcnted from committing great excesses 
by the fact that John Morgan, with his rough riders, had gal- 
oped to within forty miles of the river, when the respectable 
citizens, fearing that the disloyal element within might com- 
bine with the raiders withbut, and give the city over to pillage, 
called a meeting on 'Change, and demanded that the riot be 
stopped. The special police was, in fact, composed of a class 
too cowardly or too traitorous to aid, honestly and manfully, in 
the defense of the city. They went from house to house, fol- 
lowed by a gang of rude, foul-mouthed boys. Closets, cellars, 
and garrets were searched; bayonets were thrust into beds and 
bedding; old and young, sick and well, were dragged out, and, 
amidst shouts and jeers, marched like felons to the pen on 
Plum Street, opposite the Cathedral. No time was given to 
prepare for camp-life; in most cases no information was given 
of the purpose for which the men were impressed. The only 
answers to questions were curses and a brutal " Come along now; 
you will find out time enough." Had the city been captured 
by the Confederates the colored people would have suffered no 
more than they did at the hands of these defenders. Tuesday 
night, Sej)tember 2, was a sad night to the colored people of 
Cincinnati. The greater part of the male population had been 
dragged from home, across the river, but where, and for what? 
none could tell. 

The captain of these conscripting squads was one William 
Homer, and in him organized ruffianism had its fitting head. 
He exhibited the brutal malignity of his nature in a continued 



8 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

series of petty tyrannies. Among the first squads marched 
into the yard was one which had to wait several houi-s before 
l>eing ordered across the river. Seeking to make themselves as 
comfortable as possible, they had collected blocks of wood, and 
"piled up bricks, upon which the}' seated themselves on the 
shaded side of the yard. Coming into the yard, he ordered 
them all to rise, marched them to another part, then issued the 

order, "D n you, squat." Turning to the guard, he added, 

"Shoot the first one who rises." Reaching the other side of 
the river, the same squad were marched from the sidewalk 

into the middle of a dusty road, and again the order, " D n 

you, squat," and the command to shoot the first one who should 
rise. 

The drill of his men was unique, and not set down in Scott 
or Hardee. Calling up a squad, he would address them thus : 
' Now, you fellows, hold u]) your heads. Pat, hold your mus- 
ket straight; I believe you are drunk. Now, then, I want you 
fellows to go out of this pen and bring all the niggers you can 
catch. Don't you come back here without niggers." Then look- 
ing up at the Cathedral clock, he adds: "I'll give you forty 
minutes to be gone. Be sure and come back in that time, and 
bring niggers; don't come back without niggers." 

No paper of the city protested against the outrages, except 
the Gazette In its impression of Thursday, the 4th, the follow- 
ing appeared : 

" Let our colored fellow-soldiers be treated civilly, and not exposed to any 
unnecessary tyranny, nor to the insults of poor whites. We say poor whites 
for none but poor-spirited whites insult a race which they profess to regard 
as inferior. It would have been decent to have invited the colored inhabit- 
ants to turn out in defense of the city. Then there would have been an op- 
portunity to compare their patriotism with that of those who were recently 
trying to drive them from the city. Since the services of men are required 
from our colored brethren, let them be treated like men." 

This saturnalia of ruffianism continued until Thursday, Sep- 
tember 4, 1862, when Judge W. M. Dickson was assigned the 
task of collecting into one body all the working bands of col- 
ored men, overseeing their rations, &c. 

The order giving Judge Dickson command of the Black 
Brigade was as follows: 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 9 

"Head-qoarters U. S. Forces, "t 
"Cincinnati, September'^, 1862. j 

"William M. Dickson is hereby assigned to the command of the negro 
forces from Cincinnati working on the fortifications near Newport and Cov- 
ington, and will be obeyed accordingly. 

" By order of Major-General Lewis Wallace. 

"J. C. ELSTON, Jr., A. D. C." 

To Judge Dickson and his aids, especially James Luptou, 
Acting Camp Commandant, the members of the brigade can 
never be sufficiently grateful. Under their command kind 
treatment took the place of brutality. The men were permit- 
ted to retui-n to their hojnes, to allay the fears of their families, 
and to prepare themselves the better for camp-life. The police 
were relieved of provost-guard duty, and on Friday morning 
more men reported for duty than had been dragged together by 
the police. Many had hidden too securely to be found ; others 
had escaped to the country. These now came forward to aid in 
the city's defense. With augmented numberSj'and glowing with 
enthusiasm, the Black Brigade marched to their duty. Eeceiv- 
ing the treatment of men, they were ready for any thing. Being 
in line of march, they were presented with a National flag by 
Capt. Lupton, who accompanied it with the following address : 

" I have the kind permission of your commandant, Colonel Dickson, to hand 
vou, without formal speech or presentation, this national flag — my sole object 
to encourage and cheer you on to duty. On its broad folds is inscribed, 
'The Black Brihade'of Cincinnati.' I am confident that, in your hands, it 
will not be dishonored. 

" The duty of the hour is work — hard, severe labor on the fortifications of 
the city. In the emergency upon us, the highest and the lowest alike owe 
this duty. Let it be cheerfully undertaken. He is no man who now, in de- 
fense of home and fireside, shirks duty. 

" A flag is the emblem of sovereignty — a symbol and guarantee of protec- 
iion. Every nation and people are proud of the flag of their country. Eng- 
land, for a thousand years, boasts her Red flag and Cross of St. George ; 
France glories in her Tri-color and Imperial Eagle ; ours the ' Star-spangled 
Banner,' far more beautiful than they — this dear old flag ! — the sun in heaven 
never looked down on so proud a banner of beauty and glory. Men of the 
Black Brigade, rally around it 1 Assert your manhood, be loyal to duty, be 
obedient, hopeful, patient. Slavery will soon die; the slaveholders' rebel- 
lion, accursed of God and man, will shortly and miserably perish. There 
will then be, through all the coming ages, in very truth, a land of the free — 
one country, one flag, one destiny. 



10 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

" I charge you, Men of the Black Brigade of Cincinnati, remember that for 
you, and for me, and for your children, and your children's children, there is 
but one Flag, as there is but one Bible, and one God, the Father of us all." 

For nearly three Aveeks the Black Brigade labored upon tlie 
fortifications, their services beginning, as we have seen, Sei)tem- 
ber 2, and terminating September 20. At first, by compul- 
sion, and under the control of vile men who sought to degrade 
its members below their own bestial level, at a later period 
under kind and competent leaders, they always labored cheer- 
fully and acceptably. The shame meant to be inflicted upon 
them rebounded upon their enemies, and the members of the 
Black Brigade returned to their homes with the proud conscious- 
ness that, while the fortifications erected by their own hands 
had deterred the enemy from attacking in front, their uniform 
good conduct had completely routed the horde of rebel sympa- 
thizers in the rear, who had vented upon the Brigade the sjiite 
they felt toward the Union and Liberty. 

But one serious accident occurred during the period of their 
service. On the 17th, Joseph Johns was killed by the falling of 
a tree. The blow fell heavily w^on his wife, who with an infant 
was loft to mourn the loss of a loving husband and fiither. 
That they were not molested by the enemy was due to 
their good fortune, and not to any prudence on the part of the 
military authorities. General Wallace, having first ordered 
their impressment for a work in which they would have px'oudly 
volunteered, next placed them far in advance of the Union lines 
with nothing but spades in their hands, this, too, at a time 
when an attack was momentarily expected. So far in advance 
were they, that they wei*e once mistaken for the enemy ; and if 
the officers serving underCol. J. E. Taylor, of the 50th Ohio, 
had not possessed more courage and prudence than their com- 
mander, serious consequences would have ensued. If Col. Taylor 
did not obtain one of Gov. Tod's squirrel-hunting medals, he 
should apply for one, and wear it, as a perjoetual reminder that 
his prowess is terrible to squirrels only. 

Members of the Black Brigade have since proved themselves 
men on bloodier fields. When Massachusetts called on the 
free colored men of the North to fill her regiments, they 
responded with joy. Others are enrolled in regiments sta- 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 11 

tioned in tlie Mississippi Valley. I have before me a letter 
written by one of them — a rough, straight-forward soldier's 
letter. It is written with a 2)encil, with a fallen tree for a 
desk ; for he and another member of the Brigade are doing 
picket duty in the evei'glades of Florida. He recounts the 
the deeds of his regiment, the 54th Massachusetts, in the bloody 
fight of Olustce ; speaks modestly, as a true soldier does, of his 
own deeds, but we know that he stood by his flag, for in the 
report of the losses of Company I, 54th Massachusetts, we 
read : " Thomas Bowman shot through the leg." Many have 
met the glorious death of the soldier on the battle-field; some 
languish in the prisons of Eichmond or Charleston ; some sleep 
in that pit Avhere Eobert Gould Shaw lies "buried with his 
niggers." There let them rest; their burial place will be a resort 
of pilgrims of a redeemed race, in those glad days, when free 
black children shall sing songs of Liberty and Union, over the 
tombs of John C. Calhoun and Preston S. Brooks. 

One does not wonder at the heroism of Lytic, Jones, Whit- 
comb, L'Hommedieu, and others of our city's sons, who have 
gone forth and sacrificed their lives for their country. Them 
she loved, strew.ed their youthful pathway with flowers, encour- 
aged their opening manhood, and stood ready to crown their 
riper years with the honors she accords to those who have served 
her well. But these poor outcasts, what has she done for them? 
Slavery, social and political proscription, these were her gifts to 
them ; yet they hope for more : they wish to be numbered among 
the children of the nation, to be invested with the privileges 
wherewith she endows her sons, to feel the heart throb when 
gazing iipon the countr3-'s flag; to say with proud joy: we too 
are American citizens ! Is this too much to hope for? 

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 20, the Brigade 
was ordered into line, to return to their homes; their work was 
done. Judge Dickson had won the esteem of the men by his 
numerous acts of kindness, by the prompt vindication of their 
rights, by his incessant and efficient supervision of their labors. 
They had determined to present a sword to him as token of 
their regard. When all was ready, Mr. Marshall P. H. Jones 
stepped forward and addressed the commander as follows : 

" CoL. Dickson : The 2d day of September will ever be mem- 
orable in the history of the colored citizens of Cincinnati. 



12 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

" Previous to that date the proffered aid of that class of citi- 
zens, for war purposes, was coldly, we may add, forcibly rejected. 
Many calls for aid and assistance to suppress this gigantic rebel- 
lion, as full in their demands as the one on that day, so far as 
this class of persons is concerned, had been made, yet there was 
no demand for our services. 

"Deep in the memory of colored citizens of Cincinnati is 
written indelibly that eventful day, the 2d of September, 1862. 
We were torn from our homes, from the streets, from our shops, 
and driven to the mule-pen on Plum Street at the point of the 
bayonet, without any definite knowledge of what we were 
wanted for. Dismay and terror spread among the women and 
children, because of the brutal manner in which arrests were 
made. The colored people are generally loyal. This undue 
method of enlisting them into the service of Uncle Sam had the 
appearance (though false) that the colored people had to be 
driven, at the jDoint of the bayonet, to protect their homes, their 
wives, and their children. They went unwillingly, under such 
circumstances. Contrast this with the alacrity with which they 
responded to the gentlemanly request, even before they knew 
they would be remunerated for their services. 

" Sir, I have been selected by the members of the Black 
Brigade to thank you — deeply thank you — for the very great 
interest you have taken in our welfare, for your exertions and 
final success in collecting all of the different working parties 
into one brigade, for the kindness you have manifested to us in 
these trying times. We deeply thank you ; our mothers thank 
you; our sweethearts thank you; our children will rise up, 
thank you, and call you blessed. 

" It would be unpardonable injustice not to make favorable 
mention of those kind and gentlemanly officers you have asso- 
ciated with you in conducting the management of the Black 
Brigade. Our thanks are due to Messrs. T. C. Day, William 
Woods, J. Stacey Hill, Jacob Eesor, J. W. Hartwell, J. W. 
Canfield, W. Dickson, William H. Chatfield, and last, though 
not least, Capt. James Lupton, whose urbane and gentlemanly 
presence has been as constant as our shadows, and whose efforts 
for our comfort have been as universal as his wide-spread be- 
nevolence. 

"We, the members of the Black Brigade, perceive all the 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 13 

necessary qualifications in all of the above-named gentlemen 
to constitute them true men of honor, right, and justice; but it 
is left for you, our gallant Colonel, to combine all virtues in 
one. 

" Therefore, as a small expression of the high esteem the 
members of the Black Brigade entertain for you, they all, each 
and every one, present you this sword, the emblem of protection, 
knowing that, whenever it is drawn, it will be drawn in favor of 
freedom. And should you be called on, under other circum- 
stances, to demand the services of the Black Brigade, you will 
find they will rally around your standard in the defense of our 
country." 

The Colonel accepted the sword Avith a few appropriate words 
of acknowledgment; when the Brigade, with music playing, 
banners flying, with their commander at their head, marched 
through the streets of Covington to the pontoon bridge, and 
across to Cincinnati. 

Passing through the principal streets in this order, the Black 
Brigade, so ignominiously recruited, so insulted and outraged 
at its going forth, was every -where received with kindly en- 
thusiasm. Halting at the corner of Fifth and Broadway, they 
were dismissed by Colonel Dickson, with the following address: 

" Soldiers op the Black Brigade ! You have finished the 
work assigned to you ujion the fortifications for the defense of 
the city. You are now to be discharged. You have labored 
faithfully; you have made miles of military roads, miles of 
rifle-pits, felled hundreds of acres of the largest and loftiest 
forest trees, built magazines and forts. The hills across yonder 
river will be a perpetual monument of your labors. You have, 
in no spirit of bravado, in no defiance of established prejudice, 
but in submission to it, intimated to me your willingness to 
defend with your lives the fortifications your hands have built. 
Organized companies of men of your race have tendered their services 
to aid in the defense of the city. In obedience to the policy of the 
Government, the authorities have denied you this privilege. 
In the department of labor permitted, you have, however, ren- 
dered a willing and cheerful service, JSTor has your zeal been 
dampened by the cruel treatment received. The citizens, of 



14 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

both sexes, have encouraged you with their smiles and words of 
approbation ; the soldiers have welcomed you as co-laborers in 
the same great cause. But a portion of the police, ruffians in 
character, eai'ly learning that your services were accepted, and 
seeking to deprive you of the honor of voluntary labor, before 
opportunity was given you to proceed to the field, rudely seized 
you in the streets, in your places of business, in your homes, 
every-where, hurried you into filthy pens, thence across the 
river to the fortifications, not permitting you to make any 
prej^aration for camp-life. You have borne this with the ac- 
customed patience of your race, and when, under more favor- 
able auspices, you have received only the protection due to a 
common humanity, you have labored cheerfully and eflectively. 
' " Gro to your homes with the consciousness of having per- 
formed your duty — of deserving, if you do not receive, the pro- 
tection of the law, and bearing with you the gratitude and 
respect of all honorable men. You have learned to sufi'er and 
to wait; but in your hours of adversity, remember that the 
same God who has numbered the hairs of our heads, who 
watches over even the fate of a sparrow, is the God of your 
race as well as mine. The sweat-blood which the nation is 
now shedding at every pore is an awful warning of how fearful 
a thing it is to oppress the humblest being. Until our country 
shall again need your services, I bid you farewell." 

Although the service of the Black Brigade was in 1862, 
during which time the Hon. David Tod was Governor of Ohio, 
the following report was made by Colonel Dickson to his suc- 
cessor in office, Hon. John Brough. The report was also read 
in the Ohio Legislature, and ordered to be placed on the record. 

The muster-roll contains no names of persons who did not 
serve in the Brigade during and after the second week, it not 
having been made up until that time. 

THE BLACK BRIGADE ITS SERVICES IN THE SIEGE OF CINCINNATI. 

To His Excellency, John Brough, Governor of Ohio : 

I beg leave to present to you, for j^reservation in the archives 
of the State, the accompanying enrollment of the Black Brigade 
of Cincinnati, serving in the defense of that city, in 1862. 



V 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 15 

This brigade was not formed under the authority of tJie 
State; but its hibors were in the defense of her soil, and it 
8ccms but proper that some memory of it should be preserved 
in her records. The enrollment is not complete. It has seven 
hundred and six names. The brigade numbered about one 
thousand. Some three hundred of these, in the beginning of 
the service, and before an enrollment had been made, were as- 
signed to various duties in camps, on gun-boats, and in the city, 
separate from the rest of the brigade, and their names were 
never obtained. But the enrollment is complete as to the body 
of the brigade, who for three weeks, as a separate and distinct 
force, labored upon the fortifications in the rear of Covington 
and Newjiort, opposite Cincinnati. The rank and file, and all 
the comjjany officers except three, were colored men. 

There was no complete military formation: the nominal 
brigade, regimental, and company organization had reference 
to the convenience of the service to which they were assigned. 
The requirements of the occasion, and the prejudices of the 
time, limited this to duty as a fatigue force. The colored men 
did not shrink from this duty ; they gladly jDcrformed it ; but 
they desired the privilege of defending themselves, and the 
works their hands had made, with arms. Organized companies 
of them, armed and equipped at their own expense, tendered 
their services to aid in the defense of the city. But this privi- 
lege was denied them, and they cheerfully performed the duty 
assigned. 

The defeat of the national forces at Richmond, Kentucky, 
August 30, 18G2, opened the way for rebel invasion of that 
State to the Ohio River. There was no organized force to re- 
sist this — none to protect Cincinnati. 

Major-General Lewis Wallace, at that time in command of 
the citj', 2)romptly commenced the organization of a citizen 
force for the protection of the city. In the morning papers of 
September 2, there appeared an order from him declaring mar- 
tial law, suspending business, and directing the '^citizens" to as- 
semble at designated places in each ward, for military organiza- 
tion. It was well understood that this order was not intended 
to, and did not, include colored citizens. Numbers of these, 
however, offered themselves for any service in which they 



16 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

might be useful. This offer was accepted ; but before any ar- 
rangement had been made for their employment; before any 
order had been given them, or request made of them, on the 
morning of the 3d of September, 18G2,^the police, acting in con- 
cert, and in obedience to some common order, in a rude and 
violent manner, arrested the colored men wherever found — in 
the streets, at their places of business, in their homes — and hur- 
ried them to a mule-pen on Plum Street, and thence across the 
river to the fortifications, giving them no explanation of this 
conduct, and no opportunity to prepare for camp-life. This 
unwonted and cruel procedure filled their minds, and the minds 
of their families, with alarm and terror, and called forth for 
them the sympathy of the citizens who witnessed it. Some of 
these informed General Wallace of this conduct, and remon- 
strated against it. He condemned it, and, for the purpose of 
protecting the colored men, and organizing them for their work, 
requested me to take command of them, publishing the follow- 
ing order: 

" CIRCULAR. 

"Head-quarters United States Forces, "» 
"Cincinnati, September 4, 1862. j 

"William M. Dickson is hereby assigned to the command of the negro 
forces from Cincinnati, working on the fortifications near Newport and Cov- 
ington, and will he obeyed accordingly. 

"By order of Major-General Lew. Wallace. 

"J. C. ELSTON, Jr., A. D. C." 

Upon assuming command, September 4, I organized my staff 
as follows : 

Timothy C. Day, A. A. G-. 

J. Stacey Hill, Quartermaster. 

William Woods, Commissary. 

James Lupton, Yolunteer Aid and Camp Commandant. 

Volunteer Aids — ^Jacob Eesor, jr., James W. Canfield, John W. 
Hartwell, William J. Dickson, William H. Chatfield, Alexander 
Neave, David A. James. 

I then proceeded to the fortifications, where the colored forces 
were. I found them at work on the rifle-pits and trenches 
about Fort Mitchel, on the Lexington Road, in the rear of Cov- 
ington. They had been faithfully laboring during the j^revious 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 17 

night, and had already been commended by the engineer in 
charge, for efficient work. They were, however, wearj^ from 
long labor, and anxious about their families. They were also 
alarmed because of the treatment they had received from the 
regiments of soldiers near them. These seemed to look upon 
the colored men as abandoned property-, to be seized and appro- 
priated by the first finder. They detailed squads of soldiers, 
who appeared among the negroes at work, selected from them 
the number they wanted, and, at the point of the bayonet, 
marched them off to the camps of the regiments, there to be 
employed as cooks, or in some menial capacity, for the officers. 
A corporal's guard was engaged in this business when I reached 
Fort Mitchel. The colored men objected to this. They justly 
apprehended that they might be carried off with the regiments, 
or abandoned in Kentucky, where their presence as freemen 
was one of the most grievous crimes known to that State's 
laws, punishable with the enslavement of them and their pos- 
terity forever. They expressed entire willingness to labor on 
the fortifications under proper protection, but they desired to 
first return to their families and make preparations for camp-life. 
My first care was to visit the camps of all the regiments in 
the vicinity, and to bring fi'om them the kidnapped colored 
men. Having done this, and assembled them together, I 
marched them back to the city to the intersection of Sixth 
Street and Broadway, where I established head-quarters, reach- 
ing there about dusk. I then exf)lained to them that I de- 
signed forming them into a "Black Brigade," for fatigue duty; 
that they should be kept together as a distinct body, and have 
assigned to them a given part of the fortifications for their 
work ; that they should receive protection and the same treat- 
ment as white men ; that the necessities of the hour required 
of them constant and severe labor ; that I expected this would 
be cheerfully rendered, and that their sense of duty and honor 
would cause them to obey all orders given, and thus prevent 
the necessity of any compulsion ; that, at all events, I would 
try them, and would, therefore, dismiss them to their homes, 
expecting every one of them to meet mc next morning promjitly 
at five o'clock, to proceed to the fortifications, there to remain 
until their labors were ended. 
b 



IS THE BLACK BRIOADE. 

They received this promise of protection and fair treatment 
with grateful emotion, and assured me that they "wouhl endeavor 
to do their duty. They felt some apprehension that the police 
would arrest them ; but, as I had advised the city authorities of 
my action in the premises, and had received assurances that 
there would be no more arrests, I told them that they could go 
home without fear in this resj^ect, and dismissed them. In this 
I was, however, mistaken. Scarcely had these men, wearied 
with thirty-six hours of constant labor — upon half rations, and 
without sleep — broken ranks, when they were set upon by the 
police, and numbers of them, with blows and imprecations, 
dragged to the nearest cells. I reported the matter to General 
Wallace, and bore from him. to Mayor Hatch a peremptory 
order prohibiting the arrest of any colored man, except for 
crime. This opened the prison-doors, and by a late hour of the 
evening, Avith the assistance of my staff and some citizens, all 
the men arrested had been released and returned to their 
homes. This order secured exemj^tion from further arrests for 
some days, until Major-Gen eral Wright assumed immediate 
command of the city, when, for some unknown reason — per- 
haps because it was thought that the removal of General Wal- 
lace from the command had annulled his orders — the police, a 
third time, began arresting the colored men, those to whom, for 
sickness or other cause, I had given passes to return to the city. 
I again bore a peremptory order, this time from General Wright, 
to Mayor Hatch, commanding him not to arrest colored men, 
except for crime. This again opened the prison-doors ; and 
since that time no colored man has been arrested in the city of 
Cincinnati, merely because he was a colored man. Whether 
these arrests were made by the police of their own volition, or 
in obedience to orders from superiors, I know not. Each time 
that I delivered a peremptory order from the commanding- 
General to Mayor Hatch, he promised obedience to it. 

The number of men dismissed on the evening of the 4th was 
about four hundred. On the morning of the 5th, at the given 
hour, 5 o'clock, about seven hundred reported for duty. A num- 
ber of them were detailed for special duties, and about five 
hundred marched with me across the river to Newport, and 
thence to the cemetery on the Alexandria road in the rear of 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 19 

Newport. A handsome National flag, presented to them by 
Capt. Jas. Lupton, was borne in their midst, and their march 
was enlivened by strains of martial music, from a band formed 
from the ranks, of their own motion. They were cheered on 
their way to their work by the good words of the citizens who 
lined the streets, and by the waving handkerchiefs of patriotic 
ladies. As they passed the different regiments in line of battle, 
proceeding to the fortifications, mutual cheers and greetings 
attested the good feeling between these co-workers in the same 
cause. 

The section of work assigned to their special care, lay be- 
tween the Alexandria road and Licking river, along the Ceme- 
tery ridge and Three-mile creek. It embraced the making of 
military roads, the digging of rifle-pits and trenches, the felling 
of forests, and the building of forts and magazines. The men 
commenced their Avork in the rifle-pits, on their arrival at 
Cemetery ridge. 

Every thing had to be improvised ; the Quartermaster and 
Commissary departments required immediate attention, and 
gave most trouble ; but in a few days all was in working order. 
The men discovered a special aptitude for camp life, and with 
grass, brush and trees, made " Camp Lupton " an agreeable 
summer residence. New accessions were received to the ranks 
every day; colored men singly, in squads and companies, from 
every part of »Southern Ohio, joining them, until they exceeded 
700, independently of the details made for special duties. Upon 
the section assigned them they continued to labor until the 20th. 
During this time they worked faithfully, always doing more 
than was required of them, and receiving again and again the 
commendation of the Engineers in chai'ge, to the effect that the}' 
were the most efficient working men in the service. There was 
no occasion for compulsion, and for discipline, but a single in- 
stance. They labored cheerfully and joyfully. They made 
miles of military roads, miles of rifle pits ; felled hundreds of 
acres of the largest and loftiest forest trees; built forts and mag- 
azines. Some displayed a high order of intelligence, and a 
ready insight into the work they were doing, often making 
valuable suggestions. Upon one occasion, one of them suggest- 
ed a change in the engineering of a military road ascending a 



20 THE BLACK BRIGADE. 

steep hill. The value of the change was obvious when named, 
and admitted by the Engineer, yet he ordered the road to be 
made as originally planned, and deprecated further suggestion. 

They committed no trespass on private property. In one 
instance, upon changing the camp, a German asked me if they 
could not remain longer, as they protected his grapes. They 
were not intimidated by any danger, though compelled to labor 
without arms for their protection. 

During the few days that the soldiers stood in line of battle, 
expecting an attack, the Black Brigade was working nearly" a 
mile in front of the line of battle, and with nothing between it 
and the enemy but the cavalry scouts. Upon the occasion that 
it moved uj)on St. John's Hill, over-looking Licking Yalley, so 
far was it in front of the lines that Colonel Jonah E. Taylor, of 
the 50th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, then in command as Acting 
Brigadier General of the forces nearest it, supposing it was the 
enemy, sounded the alarm, ordered out a battery to bear upon 
it, and, in his trepidation, actually ordered it to be fired upon ; 
but this was prevented by the good sense of the officer in com- 
mand of the battery, who refused obedience, and when pressed 
fired blank cartridges, and then induced the sending of a flag 
of truce. This was received with becoming formality, and the 
fears of the redoubtable commander were allayed. The men 
were fully advised as to their position, but said they would go 
wherever they were ordered. 

During the first week they labored, as did the whole fatigue- 
force, without compensation. During the second week they 
received a dollar a day per man; and during the third week 
a dollar and a half — as did also all the fatigue-force, black and 
white. 

Upon the 20th their labors were ended ; the siege of Cincin- 
nati had been raised : the banners of rebellion had receded, 
never to return, and the men with happy hearts, with the good 
will of soldier and citizen, returned to the city and were dis- 
missed to their homes. And thus closed, in joy and happiness, 
a service that had been commenced with violence, in anxiety 
and gloom. 

I was much indebted to the intelligent and efiicient aid I 
received from the gentlemen composing my staff — volunteers to 



THE BLACK BRIGADE. 21 

an arduous, and then thankless duty. It will not bo considered 
by any of them an unfair discrimination, when I particularize 
in a single instance. To the constant attention by day and by 
night, and to the discreet supervision of Mr. James Lupton as 
camp commandant, the brigade was greatly indebted for its 
well-being and comfort. 

^ Many of the members of the brigade have since entered the 
military service. Many are there still. Some have fallen, and 
now sleep well amid the sands of Morris Island, and of the 
banks of the Mississippi. Others have been taken prisoners, 
and their fate is enshrouded in impenetrable mystery. All 
have done their duty. 

It is to be regretted that they were not permitted to enter the 
service under the auspices of their own State, whose soil they 
had defended ; but this j'^rivilego, which the authorities of their 
State denied them, was granted them by the sagacious, patriotic 
and noble governor of the ancient Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts. 

But there has been progress, and since then numbers of the 
Black Brigade have entered the service of their own State. 

There can now, therefore, be no objection to preserving, in 
the archives of the State, as a jiart of the history of the times, 
this enrollment of the tirst organization of colored men in the 
West, for military purposes. 

Respectfully, yours, 

WILLIAM M. DICKSON, 

Commandant Blach Brigade. 
Cincinnati, January 12th, 1864. 



MUSTER-ROLL OF THE BLACK BRIGADE 



CINCINNATI. 



WILLIAM M. DICKSON, Commandant. 

TIMOTHY C. DAY, Ass't Adjutant General' 

J. STAGEY HILL, Quartermaster. 

WILLIAM WOODS, CoxMmissary. 

JAS. LUPTON, (Volunteer Aid and Act- 

' [ ing Camp Commandant. 



VOLUNTEER AIDS: 

Jacob Eesor, Jr. [ William J. Dickson. 

J^MES M. Canfield. I William H. Chatfield. 

John AY. IIartwell. | Alexander Neave. 

David A. James. 



MUSTER-ROLL OP THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



23 



FIEST EEGIMENT, 



Wm. W. Powell, Captain. 
Charles Briscoe. 
Albert Shaw. 
S. Davis. 
Sandy Mix. 
Jose{)h Hunster. 
Thomas Williams. 
Albert Warrick. 
David Anderson. 
Henry Allis. 
Charles Williams. 
Hercules Brown. 
Luke Green. 
Madison Taylor. 
Frank Gordon. 



Co. A. — i-i Men. 

John Bond. 
Thomas Holberson. 
George Brown. 
Silas Bond. 
William Parker. 
William Woodyer. 
Levi Ward. 
P. Askins. 
Benjamin Robinson. 
Williiim Henry. 
Isaac Newton. 
Minor Williams. 
C. W. Thomas. 
William W. Neal. 
Dennis Lewis. 



William Brown. 
Thomas Berkshiers. 
Thomas Jenkins. 
0. C. Harris. 
Harry Davenon. 
Joseph Lucas. 
Balak Middleton. 
Robert Butler. 
Abraham Mason. 
Daniel Davenon. 
Robert Henderson. 
William Grandstaff. 
Virgil Payne. 
Benjamin Butler. 



James Vansant, Captain. 
Thomas Holmes. 
J. C. Crowder. 
J. H. Jackson- 
John Burris. 
James Ghee. 
Hanse Bailey. 
William Hastie. 
Samuel Coleman. 
William Boon. 
William Simonton. 
L. Erskines. 
S. C. Tilman. 
Henry Casey. 
William i^teers. 
William Webb. 
Mason Spencer. 



Co. B.— 51 Men. 

George Frey. 
0. C. Donley. 
William Washington. 
Green Wilson. 
W. Gardner. 
Job Thompson. 
James Baylis. 
Albert Grey. 
Burke Smith. 
Benjamin Barbee. 
Luther Griggs. 
William Cooper. 
Lewis Harris. 
Washington, Shelton. 
Henry Holmes. 
William Hill. 
George Harris. 



William Ross. 
Monroe Harris. 
Richard Rose. 
James Conrad. 
John Freeman. 
Thomas Johnston. 
J. Lewis. 
J. Brown. 
Robert Story. 
George Roots. 
Thomas Riley. 
Green Hill. 
William Lancaster. 
Jasper Beadle. 
W. N. Irons. 
Jesse Reynolds. 
Henrv Benson. 



24 



MUSTER-BOLL OF THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



Isaac N. Delaney, Captain 
Jolm R. Tinsley. 
Henry Porter. 
Samuel Jones. 
Milton Franklin. 
Simeon Tate. 
John Black. 
Young, Rice. 
Joseph Patterson. 
Frank Love. 
William H. Taylor. 
Daniel Decker. 
Richard Toney. 
Isaac Craft. 
John Shelby. 
John Green. 
Adam Beaton. 
Albert Moore. 
George Weaver. 
Caleb Calloway. 
Jerry Mason. 



Co. C— G3 Men. 

. William H. Clark. 
Nathaniel Ferrell. 
George Lee. 
Allen Robertson. 
Sylvester Moore. 
Benjamin Smith. 
Amos Freeman. 
James Buckner. 
Nelson Mosee. 
Harvey Wilson. 
Samuel Grant. 
Charles, Ferguson. 
Robert Burbage. 
James Clarkson. 
John Morgan. 
John Price. 
Jerry Hall. 
James Abrams. 
Thomas Hill. 
Samuel Harris. 
Isaac Turner. 



Simon Wright. 
John Palmer. 
John H. Wilson. 
J. Turner. 
Joseph Henry. 
Tabbs, Gross. 
R. C. Ball. 
Henry W. Smith. 
Richard Griffin. 
Arthur Brown. 
Isaac Jenkins. 
Jerry Ross. 
Littleton Jones. 
Jacob Brown. 
John T. Johnston. 
William Wilson. 
Thomas Hickey. 
Charles Barkley. 
Charles Ross. 
David H. Baird. 
Charles Watkins. 



H. B. Alger, Captain. 
James S. Fremont. 
Edward Benedict. 
Charles Henry. 
William Williams. 
Samuel Washington. 
George Hall. 
William Stevens. 
Andy Edmundson. 
Sanders M. Pinn. 
George Snowden. 
Nelson Hudson. 
James Spotswood. 
Walker Calloway. 
John Edmundson. 



Co. D.— i4 Men. 

J. H. Johnson. 
Benjamin Calamese. 
Henry Baxter. 
Benjamin Lee. 
M. Brown. 
William Spotswood. 
Frank Werk. 
J. M. Conrad. 
Jerry Dean. 
William Lewis. 
Peter Cluff. 
G. W. Armstrong. 
A. Baker. 
Isaiah Smith. 
W. B. Hudson. 



E. Hinsley. 
John Williamson. 
Aaron Rankin. 
Charles Wyatt. 
Constant Perkins. 
James W. AVilliams. 
H. D. Conrad. 
*John Williams. 
W. F. Scott. 
0. 0. Williams. 
John Ross. 
John Wilson. 
Isaac Smith. 
Willis Brvant. 



* It may be worthy of mention, that a stray bullet, carelessly firod from the camp of the 4th 
Cincinnati Volunteers, struck the shovel from this man's hands, passing directly through the 
broad part of the shovel handle, and within a few inches of his head. The brave fellow never 
tliuohed, but gaily proceeded with his day's work, as if he enjo3'ed the smelling of gunpowder. 



MUSTER-ROLL OF THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



25 



William Scott, Captain. 
Albert White. 
Alexander Hubbard. 
John Easton. 
Converse Roots. 
Alex. McAllister. 
Caleb Bell. 
Nicholas Perkins. 
William Buckner. 
Lloyd B. Taylor. 
Alonzo Anderson. 
John Black. 



J. H. Dixon, Captain. 

Samuel Lewis, sr. 
Thomas Price. 
Edward Booker. 
Mosas Gale. 
Samuel Rhodes. 
Thomas .M. Coy. 
Charles Farrow 
Peter B. Bartlett. 
Philip B. Ferguson. 
London Lucas. 
Archer Lewis 
James Johnston. 
Peter Wilson. 



Co. E.— 34 Men. 

Charles H. Taylor. 
George Burgess. 
James Marshall. 
Lewis .^larshall, 
John Buxton. 
Austin Smith. 
Martin Wadsworth. 
W. Lockwood. 
John Liggins. 
John Turner. 
Albert Bragg. 

Co. F.—- 42 Men. 

Edward Butler. 
Henry Campbell. 
Thomas Wesley. 
Wiliam Parram. 
James Simpson. 
Robert H. Smith. 
John W. Saunders. 
John E. Bell. 
Isham J. Brown. 
Charles Lloyd. 
Jamuel Lewis, jr. 
Edward Harris. 
Jesse Woodson. 
Henry Griffin. 



William Stanton. 
Charles Smith. 
J. James. 
James Hartgrove. 
Moses Carr. 
Jesse Wilson. 
John Reeder. 
James Burton. 
Edward Casey. 
Charles Taylor. 
W. J. Brown. 



Thomas Bowman. 
Robert B. Troy. 
Jerry Butler. 
Joshua Liverpool. 
Berkley Jones. 
Milton, Bentley. 
James Scott. 
William Steele. 
Reuben Shipley. 
Allen Cruse. 
George W. Bail. 
George Bradshaw. 
James Townsend. 
Henry Sullivou. 



Charles Hall, Captain. 
John Wilkinson. 
Williara Lindsay. 
Harvey Brown. 
H. H. Pettigrew. 
Joseph Holmes. 
Thomas Jones. 
James Price. 
John Kelley. 
Dangerfield Early. 
Wingfleld Early. 
Alexander Jackson. 
Joseph Early. 



Co. I.— 39 Men. 

John Newsome. 
James Morgan. 
Nelson Briggs. 
Noah Brown. 
Henry Simpson. 
John Valentine. 
William P. West. 
Samuel Wells. 
George Bell. 
Liston L. Crewett. 
John Lott. 
Amos Bowman. 
Greene Buster. 



Branch Goode. 
Isaac Blakesley. 
Benjamin Scott. 
Jackson Murray. 
Martin Tilman. 
Matthew Busby. 
Thomas Tilman. 
Henry Tivis. 
Benjamin Mason. 
Robert Johnson. 
William Lawson. 
John Simms. 
James Monroe. 



26 



MUSTER-ROLL OF THE BLACK BRIGAPE. 



SECOND REGIMENT, 



*James Mason, Captain. 

B. Lee. 

P. H. Kinney. 

C. S. Shorter. 
R. F. Cousins. 
P. Johnson. 
J. Kinney. 

D. A. Norris. 
L. Ellis. 

W. Ellis. 
John Brown. 
W. H. Hill. 
James Rolls. 



M. Bowdree, Captain. 
D. Curtis. 
Henry Hawkins. 
Daniel Mundowney. 
Thomas Mercer. 
John Farrow. 
Charles Johnson. 
David Liggins. 
Daniel Harris. 
John Taylor. 
A. Hiller. 
Robert Lewis. 
John Webb. 
J. C. McDougal. 
James Harris. 



Co. B— 37 Men. 

A. Bently. 
J. Tompkins. 
R. Boner. 
F. Livins. 
A. Graham. 
W. H. Harrison. 
W. Bailey. 
R. Goines. 
George Wilson. 
Frank Holmes. 
George Merchant. 
A. Logan. 



Co. C— 45 Men. 

William Cooper. 
John Johnston. 
James Martin. 
Alexander Scruggs. 
John Hill. 
George Harris. 
George Tenbrock. 
John Crow. 
H. Campbell. 
Robert Kite. 
John Green. 
R. Stewart. 
Anthony Cherry. 
John Arnold. 
Samuel Moss. 



W. Jonas. 
George Hayes. 
J. Jonas. 
S. Pool. 
W. Williams. 
F. Limus. 

D. R. Kinney. 
George Leonard. 
M. Smith. 

M. Tate. 

E. Cousins. 
Geore-e Allen. 



S. Hollandworth. 
Charles Fields. 
Marcus Rankill. 
S. Richardson. 
Adam Riley. 
John Hubbard. 
James Cox. 
Elijah Kite. 
Samuel W. Nickens 
R. Turpin. 
Alfred Stevens. 
Charles Harris. 
William Rankill. 
James King, jr. 
Robert G. Jonos. 



Charles Austin, Captain. 
William Thomas. 
Frederick Somers. 
Elder Willis. 



Co. D— 40 Men. 

Wilson Casey. 
Tilford Sneed. 
Benjamin Davis. 
Charles Armstead. 



Frank Hays. 
Augustus Gaines. 
George Kinney. 
G. F. Butler. 



'■ Formerly body servant of Mason, rebel Minister to England. 



MUSTER-ROLL OF THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



27 



Enos Parker. 
Riley M. Truss. 
John Ducker. 
David Nickens. 
Daniel Keith. 
Abraham Jones. 
James Morton. 
James McAllister. 
John Liggins. 
Benjamin Clieek. 



Richard Sims. 
Emmanuel Patterson. 
John Keith. 
Charles 8hclton. 
Henry Henderson. 
Richard Armstead. 
Robert Crow. 
James Bartlett. 
Charles AVilliams. 



Nicholas Saulsbury. 
Nathaniel Lytle. 
James Ferguson. 
David Long. 
Wesley Turner. 
Benjamin Franklin. 
John Alexander. 
James Battise. 
"Wesley Jones. 



John McAllister, Captain 
John Haskins. 
Albert Lindsey. 
William Stewart. 
James Cai-r. 
Richard Blackburn. 
John Lucas. 
Nathaniel Goines. 
James Morris. 
Warner Durett. 
M. W. Jackson. 
N. W. Hagerman. 
Hamilton Baker. 
♦Joseph Johns. 



Co. E — tl Men. 

. William Wilson. 

A. W. Hays. 
D. F. Carter. 
Cyrus Brown. 
Frank Noton, or Know 
Joshua Eddy. 

P. Powell. 
Emmanuel Davis. 
Elim Miller. 
William Jones. 
Charles Tirley. 

B. D. Payne. 
Jacob Frederick. 
William Griggs. 



Morton Brown. 
David Scott. 
Johnson Howard. 
Vernon Woods. 



Iton 



L«aac Jones. 
C. F. Buckner, 
Robert Lewis. 
William Buckner. 
George Collins. 
Eli Covington. 
John Hill. 
Jose})h Hagerman. 
John R. Henrv. 



Peter F. Fossett, Captain. 
W. B. Scott, 
John Lewis. 
William Lewis. 
W. H. Baltimore. 
Daniel Thomas. 
Asa Butcher. 
Nathan Williams. 
Lloj-d Johnston. 
Chapman Vinee. 



Co. F.— 29 Men. 

John Harris. 
Thomas Dixon. 
Jesse Oliver. 
G. W. Kinney. 
A. J. Mosby. 
William H. Mills. 
Stephen Irw"in. 
Charles Points. 
P. Templeton. 
Randoli^h Jones. 



John Webb. 
Marshall Jordan. 
J. Williams. 
Charles Johnston. 
John IMann. 
Benjamin Dabney. 
Allen Foster. 
Harry Hodriek. 
Wallace Shelton. 



=•■ This worthy man w.-is accidentally killed. A largo tree ho had nearly chopped down in 
clearing obstructions from before the guns of Fort Shaler, swayed by the wind, fell upon and 
crushed him, a day or two only before the colored men were relieved from duty ; after their 
return to Cincinnati ho was buried by his lato companions and the officers of the Black Brigade 
—much honored and lamented. 



28 



MrSTER-ROLL OF THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



THIED EEGIMENT. 



Simon Shepherd, Captain. 
Marshal P. PI. Jones. 
William Flewellan. 
Robert Blackstone. 
Alfred Keith. 
Charles Harrison. 
Henry Kizer. 
Francis Jones. 
James Kirk. 
James Ellis. 
Thomas Stewart. 
Powhatan Beatty. 
Moses Johnston. 



Co. No. 1—37 Men. 

James Copely. 
C. W. Williams. 
L. W. Crewitt. 
W. I. Toney. 
G. Strange. 
Alfred Harrison. 
Isaac Smith. 
Solomon Anderson. 
Shadrach Kirke. 
George Trimble. 
Francis Bond. 
S. Napier. 



William Smith. 

John Collier. 

William Carr. 
Sanford Lewis. 
Martin Scott. 
Henry Johnston. 
Lloyd Lewis, jr. 
Lloyd Lewis, sr. 
William Porter, 
James King. 
Isaac Lancaster. 
Isaiah Mitchell. 



George Mack, Captain. 
Charles Carter. 
C. C. Hubbard. 
William Sanders. 
Ranly Miles. 
S. P. Dorsey. 
William Page. 
David Ellis. 
Samuel Taylor. 
Lewis Scott. 
Samuel Scott. 
Henry Cooper. 
Albert Jenkins. 
Alex. Sanders. 
Richard Corbin. 



Co. No. 2.-44 Men. 

Newton Garrison. 
D. Harris. . 
David Pleasants. 
Robert Gaines. 
Henry Casey. 
Miller Merchant. 
David P. Jones. 
Marshal Ditcher. 
Norvall Jackson. 
Samuel Hines. 
James James. 
Martin 'Morris. 
Robert Smith. 
Henry Allen. 
Amos;Brown. 



James Towles. 
Benjamin Stewart. 
Harry Green. 
Samuel Smith. 
Albert Chapman. 
J. Mernro. 
W. Early. 
George S. Allen. 
Andy Wilkinson. 
Walter Scott. 
Thomas Casey. 
John Cousins. 
George Burgess. 
EdwardiMarch. 



W. H. Looker, Captain. 

L. Bruce. 

H. Bryant. 

G. Ware. 

W. Wilson. 

M. Rust. 



Co. No. 3.-42 Men. 

A. J. Holloway. 
W^. Holloway. 
W. Satcholl. 

B. Hogan. 
B. Hamilton. 
M. Johnson. 



W. Satchel!, Sr. 
G. F. Butler. 
Isaac Mitchell. 
J. Turner. 
E. Bates. 
H. B. Renson. 



MUSTER-ROLL OP THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



29 



S. Holloway. 
L. Holloway. 
0. Madden. 
P. Alexander. 
J. Mundowney. 
H. Boyer. 
J. Gates. 
S. Riddle. 



C. Corrall. 
J. Dermogall. 
J. Bates. 

W. H. Anderson. 
W. H. Steinway. 
Lewis Scott, Jr. 
Andrew Tait. 
Peter Custello. 



Amos Brown. 
Augustus Gaines. 
Martin Tilman. 
Thomas Tilman. 
Henry Tivis. 
Arthur Brown. 
George Whitcomb. 
Richard Tostson; 



T. Perry, Captain. 
William Hudson. 
Charles H. Payne. 
Charles Mazee. 
Daniel Early. 
Charles St. John. 
Philip Willis. 
John Campbell. 
Clark, Powell 
Lewis Hughes. 



Co. No. 4.— 30 Men. 

Aston Wilson. 
John Hill. 
Willis Bryant. 
John Findley. 
Lewis Johnson. 
Henry Johnson. 
James H. Wilson. 
H. Brown. 
William Hudson, Jr. 
M. Reynolds. 



J. Battiso. 
William Spriggs. 
Samuel Ra3^ 
Jackson M. Moore. 
Lewis Stratton. 
E. Miller. 

W. H. Washington. 
W. H. Bush. 
Sylvester Bird. 
William Lawson. 



M. Jackson, Captain. 

T. J. Goode. 

W. Wilson. 

W. Fisher. 

S. Burgess. 

F. .Marshall. 

B. Simmons. 
N. Dolsby. 
L. Cooper. 
W. Peyton. 

C. Jones. 
R. Goines. 
A. Posey. 
M. Raglin. 
E. Ferjiruson. 



Co. No. 5.— 4-i Men. 

G. Ralton. 
M. J. Epps. 
J. Gibbs. 
W. Smith. 

F. Buckner. 

G. Henry. 
W. H. Mann. 
B. Wilkinson. 
S. Blakey. 
W. Sanders. 
H. Smith. 
L. Alexander. 
L. Givens. 
J. W. Wilson. 
A. Triplett. 



William Fisher. 
H. Patterson. 
W. Smith. 
E. Solomon. 

B. Turner. 

C. Jones. 
L. Griggs. 
George Harvey. 
L. G. Hilton. 
Henry Casey. 
Robert Butler. 
G. Leonard. 
Charles Raglan. 
William Davis. 



30 MUSTER-ROLL OF THE BLACK BRIGADE. 



EECAPITULAION. 

First Regiment, Company'.A, 44 

'• " " B, 51 

" " " C, 63 

" « " D, 44 

" " " E, 34 

(' << (. -p 42 

" " " I, 39—317 

Second " " B, 37 

" " " C, 45 

" " " D, 40 

" " " E, 41 

" " " F, 29—192 

Third " " No. 1, 37 

" " " No. 2, 44 

" " " No. 3, 42 

" " " No. 4, 30 

" " " No. 5, 44—197 

Total enrollment, , 706 



^ 80 



/Ai 



y 



